Intra-organisational marketing culture and market orientation: a case study of the implementation of the marketing concept in a public library

The measurement of both marketing culture and behaviour provides the opportunity to gain more insight into the overall market focus of organisations. This article seeks to determine the market orientation and marketing culture of all staff within organisations, to ascertain to what extent other members of an organisation support or create barriers to the successful implementation of the marketing concept. This paper will provide a brief overview of the existing literature in the field of market orientation and marketing culture. After detailing the research design and methodology, a summary developed from 11 focus group sessions - consisting of all staff in one public library service in Victoria, Australia - is presented. The findings indicate that while all areas within this organisation are committed to marketing, there are various interpretations of marketing and how it should be implemented. In addition, the research finds a number of factors that could be instrumental in the successful implementation of the marketing concept in public libraries.

The contextual nature of the market orientation and organisational performance relationship: an Australian and New Zealand study

As part of a broader study of the relationship between traditional and online marketing mix elements and organisational performance, the study reported in this paper utilised structural equation modelling to examine the relationship between market orientation and organisational performance. The study found that there was an insignificant relationship between market orientation and organisational performance, thereby lending support to studies conducted in the UK, Ghana, and the US (since the studies in the US by Narver and Slater (1990)), which found that there may be a contextual nature to the relationship between the two constructs. The study, therefore, does not support Pulendran et al. (2000).

The MORTN market orientation instrument - an empirical analysis

This paper focuses on Deshpande and Farley's (1998) MORTN market orientation instrument. Specifically, the paper investigates empirically the factor structure and reliability of the supposedly unidimensional instrument. When the MORTN instrument was tested utilising Australian organisations, a two-dimensional factor structure was found to fit the data more acceptably then the unidimensional structure proposed by Deshpande and Farley. These dimensions may be characterised as being Customer/Market Intelligence (Dimension One) and Customer Service (Dimension Two).

Market orientation and organisational performance: the influence of moderators

The concept of market orientation has received a great deal of attention from marketing scholars, indicating its conceptual and practical importance. The concept has been investigated from many perspectives and examined in many ways. The current general understanding is that market orientation, in most cases, is positively related to some measures of organisational performance and that different internal and external situations moderate this relationship. This paper aims to (1) introduce a measure of market orientation effectiveness, which represents a synthesis of the influence of different internal and external moderators on market orientation, and (2) measure the association of market orientation effectiveness with (a) a marketing performance outcome and (b) the overall organisational financial performance. The results from a survey of 216 large Australian businesses indicated that some variables (an organisation’s strategy of cost leadership, market strength, implementation effectiveness, and market volatility) have positive contributions at different degrees to market orientation effectiveness, while anticipated competitive reaction contributes negatively. Results also indicated that in the sample studied, both market orientation and market orientation effectiveness were more strongly associated with a measure of marketing performance, than with the overall financial performance, which is a function of both marketing and non-marketing initiatives.

Market fit, market orientation, and business performance : an empirical investigation

This thesis investigated the congruence of an organisation to its intended target markets. It was hypothesised that the internal activities of an organisation are, potentially, structured in response to its market dynamics with the ultimate aim of achieving the organisational objective(s). Market fit has been conceptualised to represent the fit of an organisation to its operating market environment. The information for this study was collected from senior marketing decision makers, using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample comprised 216 companies from a mix of industries and organisational sizes in Australia. There is evidence to suggest that the association of market orientation and business performance is inconsistent under different business operating circumstances, due to the exclusion of the influence of key environmental moderators. The model of market fit attempts to overcome this condition. The results suggest that market fit is associated with measures of business performance, and the levels of association are different from those related to the market orientation measures, reflecting the influence of moderators. The categories of environmental moderators contributing at different levels to the market fit measure include: (1) marketing planning, (2) implementation of marketing decisions, (3) market orientation, (4) market strength, (5) generic strategies, (6) organisational culture, (7) familiarity with the marketing audit, and (8) the external environment. The marketing audit procedure has been recommended as a tool to assist with the establishment and maintenance of market fit. The results of this study indicate that organisational familiarity with, and the conduct of, the marketing audit periodically are low, and that market fit may be a better predictor of business performance, than is market orientation.

Firm survival through a crisis : the influence of market orientation, marketing innovation and business strategy

As an outcome of the economic crisis, the global manufacturing sector is collapsing. Focusing on Chinese manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs), this study investigates whether marketing innovation, defined as improvements in the marketing mix, can assist in withstanding the challenges of operating under the current economic conditions. A conceptual model linking market orientation, marketing innovation, competitive advantage and firm survival is tested using structural equation modelling. Three key findings are derived. First, the examined Chinese manufacturing SMEs had a greater perceived likelihood of survival had they developed and sustained a competitive advantage. Second, marketing innovation assisted in developing and sustaining competitive advantages based on differentiation and cost leadership strategies. Third, marketing innovation capabilities improved when the examined manufacturing SMEs were competitor oriented and had good inter-functional capabilities.

Marketing planning : operationalising the market orientation strategy

Despite strong empirical validation of the relationship between market orientation and business performance, the literature is inconclusive on the implementation of the strategy. This paper reviews the implementation of market orientation, and investigates the associations between market orientation and marketing planning and their associations with business performance. A survey of 216 Australian larger business organisations was conducted to find evidence of these relationships. The results highlight a close association between market orientation and marketing planning, with virtually the same level of association between them, and the business performance measures used. This evidence suggests that they arguably represent the same domain. The results suggest that marketing practitioners may use the marketing planning technique as an intangible productive resource to operationalise the market orientation strategy, and use it to design a specific style and magnitude of market orientation suitable for an organisation.

Inter-relationships between innovation and market orientation in SMEs

Purpose – This study aims to explore the nature of the interactions between two strategies, innovation and market orientation. By examining the components of these constructs the paper seeks to identify key components of market orientation that are antecedent factors of the innovation performance of the firm.

Design/methodology/approach – Correlation analysis was undertaken on data from a survey of 73 manufacturing firms in the Greater Western Sydney economic development zone in Australia. The data were supplemented by information obtained from the firm's annual reports.

Findings – Innovation was found to be positively correlated to market orientation (customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional co-ordination) and both of these constructs were found to be positively correlated to firm performance and the degree of change in the firm's competitive environment.

Research limitations/implications – Possible limitations are: the low survey response rate; the nature of the sampled population; and the spread of industries involved, which could limit the generalisability of the results. The next steps will be to conduct deeper analysis into the factors that make up the subscales of the two constructs and to determine how market orientation or its associated activities interact with the innovation process.

Practical implications – In order to maximize a firm's financial performance, organizations should increase both their market orientation and their innovation activities as these factors operate synergistically.

Originality/value – This study is arguably the first to establish the finding that the degree of change in the competitive environment and the level of market orientation are linked, and the identification of the components of market orientation that are linked to firm innovation. These findings suggest that firm innovation and firm market orientation are strategic reactions to changes in the firm's competitive environment.